


Mind Control

by MirasMirages



Series: Febuwhump [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Febuwhump, Gen, Mind Control, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29144709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirasMirages/pseuds/MirasMirages
Summary: Best part:“I like your necklace,” she told Abigail Tailor before math class one day. “Can I have it?” Abigail didn’t even smile about the compliment, just handed it over and went to her desk.Maya kept looking at the necklace, turning it over in her hand. There was an inscription.Ellie Tailor, 1978-1989The next day, she handed it back. “It looks better on you,” she said, and Abigail looked relieved.
Series: Febuwhump [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139144
Kudos: 3
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Mind Control

Ever since she was a child, Maya was used to getting what she wanted. All it took was a smile and a bit of charm, and people would give her things, do things for her, and be happy about it. Some might call her spoiled, others would call her manipulative, but she would disagree. To Maya it was a game, to see how much people would say yes to as long as she used the right words. 

“Those flowers are beautiful!” she would say to the florist she passed on her way to school. “Can I have one?” And the florist would smile and give her a flower that she tucked behind her ear, and they would both be a little happier than they were before they met.

People rarely told her no, but there was nothing magical about it. It was simply because she had learned to never ask for anything she couldn’t have. When she wanted something off limits, she would find a compromise, or she would find a way to stop wanting it, or she would make a plan for how to get it later. There was always a way, as long as she made the right plan. She just had to be smart about it.

It was hard to tell when it changed, but she noticed when she was twelve. People were still as willing to give her things, but she didn’t feel as good about it after, and they seemed less happy too. Still, they kept saying yes.

“I like your necklace,” she told Abigail Tailor before math class one day. “Can I have it?” Abigail didn’t even smile about the compliment, just handed it over and went to her desk.

Maya kept looking at the necklace, turning it over in her hand. There was an inscription. _Ellie Tailor, 1978-1989_

The next day, she handed it back. “It looks better on you,” she said, and Abigail looked relieved.

-

It had to be a power. She was too young to be getting powers, but there were no other explanations.

Usually people were in their late teens when their powers presented. She hadn’t even started high school.

They had watched a documentary at school once, about the government run boarding school for people with powers. It was presented as a place where they could learn to control their powers in a safe way, and then they would be assigned a job where their powers would be useful.

When she was eight, she had read a book about how other countries used propaganda to control their people, and had felt lucky she didn’t live in a place like that. 

Maya shuddered to think about what this power could be useful for. She imagined the power growing, until no one could disobey her. Imagined living in one of those countries that used propaganda to make people trust the government. 

Some people didn’t use their powers for the government. They kept their identities secret and fought each other in the streets, often causing a lot of damage to infrastructure and to innocent civilians. It was very illegal to be Unregistered for people with powers. Some people called them superheroes. Maya’s parents called them criminals. 

She didn’t want to register. Didn’t want to go to the school, or be assigned a job when she grew up. It was very illegal. 

-

It became a game again.

Now that she had powers to hide, she had to find ways to ask for what she wanted without actually asking.

“Don’t you think this color suits me?” she said, and her father smiled and bought her the dress.

For two years she hid her powers. It was scary, not knowing if she’d be discovered, but when no one seemed to notice, she became more confident. She even started experimenting with using her powers sometimes. That must have been her mistake. 

“Let me go!” she yelled, and the man who had wrapped his arms around her waist let go. She didn’t look back, just ran as fast as she could, away from the man and the car.

“Stop!” she said two days later, and the woman froze. “W- who are you?”

The woman smirked. “So you haven’t learned to use your powers yet. Interesting.”

“I- stop following me!”

The woman stayed where she was when Maya ran away.

Three more days, and she was out of luck. Another woman approached her. 

“Stop!”

The woman didn’t stop. She grabbed Maya’s arm and pulled her into an alley.

“Let me go!” Maya yelled, but it didn’t work. The woman was stronger than her, and there was a prick in the side of her neck, and everything went blurry.

-

The muzzle was the worst part. She was tied to a bed, and there were people in white coats working around her. None of them spoke to her, and she couldn’t say anything. For days they kept her there, and she was almost grateful for the drugs that kept her knocked out most of the time.

One day they put her in a white room with a big mirror. There was a man in a chair who was also wearing a muzzle, and a table between them. On the table was a note.

 _Tell him to break his thumb,_ the note said.

Maya felt the straps on her muzzle and undid them. Taking it off was such a relief. She looked at the note. “I’m not doing that,” she said to the mirror. There had to be people on the other side, right? That’s how it was in movies.

No one responded. Maya tried to take off the man’s muzzle, but it was locked in place with tiny padlocks.

It felt like hours had passed when a voice came through the ceiling. “You will be released once the test is completed.”

Maya showed the man the note. “I won’t make you do it.”

Another few hours passed, and the man put his hand together in a way that obviously hurt. The voice from the ceiling told her to put the muzzle back on, and she did, because if the man had broken his thumb just to be let out, she wouldn’t force him to stay.

The last time she was in the room, she was alone. The note on the table said: _Don’t obey._

She took the muzzle off and sat down.

“Stand up,” said the voice from the ceiling. Maya stayed.

“Clap your hands. Sing a song. Smile.”

Maya did nothing. 

There was a pause, and then a new voice. “Stand up.”

Maya stood. She hadn’t even thought about it, just obeyed the voice immediately.

“Good girl,” the voice said. “Clap your hands.”

She did, and the new voice led her through a series of commands. It was scary, the way she couldn’t control her own actions.

The voice told her to sit down and be quiet, and then a man entered the room.

“Hi, Maya,” he said. “My name is Charles.”

He paused, as if waiting for her to respond. She glared at him, since that was the only thing she could do.

“Those are some impressive powers you have,” Charles said. “You’re the strongest mind controller we’ve found, and the youngest. Imagine what you could do in a few years.”

He kept talking, about how their experiments had failed on other subjects, how he was happy she had survived, and then he made her an offer.

“You can go back to your parents if you want. All you have to do is cooperate. Come back when we tell you to for more tests, and of course, keep it all secret. Wouldn’t want you to get registered, would we? I’ll even pay you for your trouble.” He said it as if it was a generous offer. “You may speak. Will you work for me?”

She wanted to go home. “Go to hell,” she said.

He sighed. “Your other option is to stay here, continue the way things are now. You will still do everything I want you to. I won’t offer this again.”

She clenched her fists. There was nothing she wanted less than to agree to what he wanted of her. There was nothing she wanted more than to go back to her normal life and pretend nothing had happened.

Tears pricked at her eyes when she finally nodded.

“Good,” Charles said and smiled. “We’ll make up a story and send you back tomorrow. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> [ Tumblr ](https://whumpymirages.tumblr.com/post/641968280658165760/mind-control)


End file.
